CSNH distribution of Rockets games stuck at 40 percent

One month into the NBA season, the Rockets are still working on perimeter defense - and Comcast SportsNet Houston, the team's new television home, is still working on distribution.

Both are clicking along at roughly the same pace. The Rockets are a game under .500 at 7-8 entering Saturday's game against the Utah Jazz, and CSN Houston remains available in about 40 percent of the 2.2 million TV households in the 20-county Houston designated market area.

And it's a close race, on many nights, as to which development draws the more conversation from Rockets fans. On one fan board, the topic of CSN Houston distribution trails page views for the James Harden trade but has a comfortable lead over the thread titled "Jeremy Lin is a joke."

Distribution efforts, of course, are no joke to either side. CSN Houston, owned by the Rockets, Astros and NBC Sports Group, has been unable to reach distribution deals with DirecTV, Dish Network or AT&T U-verse, leaving a majority of Houston viewers in the dark on Rockets game nights. CSN Houston is believed to be seeking $3.40 per month per subscriber.

As pleased as CSN Houston executives Matt Hutchings and Murphy Brown are with local programming on the 2-month-old network, they remained as stymied as viewers by distribution delays.

"That is No. 1, the paramount, most important factor for us, and we are doing our best to get distribution," said Hutchings, the network's general manager. "I get it that everybody wants the channel. We want them to have it. We just have to find that right deal.

"We know that people are frustrated. I understand. I get that, and we are doing our best to get it to them."

Other shows fare well

Through 15 games, Rockets games are averaging about a 0.95 Nielsen rating, which equals about 21,050 households. That's down from a 1.45 rating for the first 15 games on FS Houston last season, although network officials note it reflects higher viewership among those who have access to CSN Houston.

The network also has gained traction for its three nightly newscasts and its pregame and postgame shows, all of which offer more detail than Fox provided.

"We brought 120 employees together and in a matter of 60 days we were able to start making good television," Hutchings said. "We are getting ratings for the game, and people are sticking around to watch our news and our other programming."

Brown, a longtime producer with Fox Sports Net, said CSN Houston has added two cameras to its Rockets game broadcasts for a total of seven, and it has added fan favorite Calvin Murphy to its pre- and postgame shows. The channel also has added live postgame shows for Texans games and next week will air two TAPPS high school football championship game games.

"Our coverage regarding the Rockets is better than it was last year (on Fox)," Brown said.

That's of little solace, however, to satellite and telco customers and customers of cable systems like Suddenlink, which recently extended an agreement with NBC Universal that did not include CSN Houston. DirecTV, according to the Los Angeles Times, also is close to a new NBC deal that will not include the Houston channel.

Staying the course

Veteran TV executive Chris Bevilacqua, who founded CSTV (now CBS Sports Network) and has negotiated broadcast deals for the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres, said it's too early for CSN Houston to back down on subscriber fees.

"To have 40 percent when you launch is pretty good," he said. "I think it will eventually lead to where most regional sports networks are, which is full distribution in their home territory. I suspect the same will happen in Houston.

"It's too early to compromise. These companies (producers and distributors) do a lot of business with each other. That's why these things tend to get worked out."

Hutchings said "tens of thousands" of viewers have signed online petitions asking providers to add the channel.

"I think our channel is good across the board, and I'm proud of the way we cover the Rockets. … We're getting into regional and local sports, which resonates with people."

David Barron reports on sports media, college football and Olympic sports for the Houston Chronicle. He joined the Houston Chronicle in 1990 after stints at the Dallas bureau of United Press International (1984-90), the Waco Tribune-Herald (1978-84) and the Tyler Morning Telegraph (1975-78). He has been a contributor to Dave Campbell's Texas Football since 1980, serving as high school editor from 1984 through 2000 and as Managing Editor from 1990 through 2004. A native of Tyler, he is a graduate of John Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College and The University of Texas at Austin.